Recipe for a Great Staff Retreat

Create shared space for meaningful conversations between respectful colleagues who want to work on issues vital to their organization’s core values and mission. June, September and October are prime months for scheduling a staff retreat—a time away from daily operations. At least that’s been my experience, based on almost three decades of acting as a facilitator and guest speaker at such events. Some staff retreats have been wonderful opportunities for meaningful conversations between respectful colleagues who want to work on issues vital to their organization’s core values and mission. But other retreats have been painful experiences for everyone, including yours truly, plagued by poor coordination, distrust shading into paranoia, and one or more micromanagers at the helm. You know the type: they are content to let anything happen as long as they control the outcomes. In short, their subtle message to participants is that the retreat will continue until the staff come up with the leader’s idea. Perhaps that’s why some people work hard to finish early in such sham circumstances. I had just the opposite experience in late June of this year when I facilitated a staff retreat for a large multi-program community agency that brings hope, healing and dignity to vulnerable children and adults in rural areas. (They even run a day-care centre!) The participants were very diverse in skills, experience, and functions, but they shared two vital characteristics: they wanted to be together, and they respected each person’s contribution to the mission. We gathered for a day at a local conservation area, which has a great facility free of distractions. The weather cooperated, there was excellent pre-organization, and the food was fantastic. (The organizers had even brought along a complete sundae bar!) My role was easy: I simply had to get the group conversations rolling and guide the process. The formal leaders were never front and centre with their agenda. In fact, I never did learn who all the managers were. All in all, it was a great day of what the experts call “shared space,” a healthy organizational community. Well, the fantastic food got me to thinking about recipes that might just work to create a great staff retreat. Here is my recipe, and I recommend it to any organization that wants to have a worthy, meaningful retreat. One could write a book with several chapters expending on the ingredients. But that’s a project for another day without looming deadlines. I suspect that most readers intuitively know what each item on the list involves anyway. But the last two are worth discussing in a bit more detail. Careful time management at retreats is a vital ingredient because it signifies that all participants’ time is too valuable to waste with poor organization and sloppy attention to the schedule. In great retreats, people arrive early, motivated to begin the community conversation. Things happen on time, and the facilitator tries hard to wrap up the process a wee bit early. In fact, organizers should plan to finish a bit early. That way, people leave with at least one happy memory. And then there’s the food. Pay careful and creative attention to planning snacks and meals. Have food available that people really enjoy, and if possible encourage the participants to contribute to potluck meals. Continuously, in my years as a retreat facilitator, I have been struck by the fact that people who enjoy “breaking bread together” throughout the year are healthy, supportive colleagues. In mysterious and wonderful ways, shared meals are a sign that community exists. If your workplace staff rarely eats together, except for stiff and formal occasions, don’t expect to find many other signs of a healthy community. I guess that people are just too busy trying to consume each other to care about meaningful shared space. Treat the recipe as food for thought in planning your next staff retreat. And a special thanks to a wonderful community organization for providing me with food for thought for this column. Recipe for a Great Retreat One motivated and organized planning team Any number of staff who want to gather A relaxed setting, free of distractions A climate of supportive collegiality Loads of meaningful group discussions Leaders who value shared ownership of ideas A healthy measure of laughter during the day Several tools for community dialogue A facilitator to guide the process Careful attention to the scheduled timings Fantastic food throughout the day

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